


Before it all began

by lyla_green



Category: Zombies Run!
Genre: Backstory, Gender-Neutral Runner Five, Mute Runner Five, No Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-22
Updated: 2020-06-22
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:54:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,126
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24857956
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lyla_green/pseuds/lyla_green
Summary: Runner Five. That's the Runner we know, the Runner we love. But how did they arrive at Abel in the first place?
Comments: 4
Kudos: 5





	Before it all began

“Number 39?”

I raise my eyes from the book that I’m reading and double-check my number from my bracelet. It is 39 indeed.

I raise my hand as I stand up, grabbing my small backpack from the floor.

The lady at the front desk gives me a tired look and points at one of the doors behind her. I nod and make my way over, feeling the simply digging a hole in my back from the rest of the survivors. Considering the fact that I was here for about half a day and there are up to a hundred people here…I am lucky.

I push the door open to see a room filled with medical equipment. It kind of looks like my doctor’s office from before Z day, with the white bed, all the shelves filled with different types of medicine and bandages and all types of weird machines. At a desk, I see a woman, dressed in white, who is going through a stack of paper rather quickly. Files, I assume.

“Number 39?” she says, not lifting her eyes from the papers.

I nod, and when she doesn’t do anything that suggests she might’ve heard me, I cough quietly. Before I realize what I’ve done, she snaps her head up, her eyes instantly scanning my body.  
I shake my head forcefully, making all of the known signs for ‘no’. No zombie bites here.

The woman sighs tiredly and rubs her eyes.

“Name?”

I shift uncomfortably on my feet, trying to think of a way to ask for a pen and paper so I can write it down. But before I can do anything, she gives me ‘that’ look. The look I’ve grown accustomed to. The look people give me when they realize that I’m mute.

“It’s alright, it doesn’t matter anyway. For now, you are number 39.”

She motions me to sit down on the bed, and I do that, feeling uncomfortable at the way the sheets feel. Clean. They can afford clean sheets, while I lived in a zombie-infested apartment building for months?

I shake that thought away. They brought me in. Mullins saved me. That’s what matters for now.

I keep saying that to myself when every inch of my body is looked at, when they show me to a small room with nothing but a bed and a small bedside table, when I’m left alone and fear consumes me yet again.

* * * 

“Alright, new recruits. Today is a briefing day, so play close attention”

I look at the mass of people that surrounds me, feeling my anxiety grow. Hat if one of them has not been checked properly? In a group like this, it would spread like wildfire. There are teens, adults of all genders and races. I can even see a few kids around here.

What I try not to think about, as I bite my lip nervously to try to control my breathing, is that there are significantly fewer people than there were yesterday in the waiting room

The woman on the makeshift stage is the same woman that was in charge of calling our names yesterday. She looks like another person today, with her hair tightly pulled back and a clean, perfectly fitted uniform.

“Welcome to your first day at Mullins Military Base. You have all been assigned a room, but don’t get too comfortable. Later in the day, you will take an exam that will test both your physical and mental capabilities. “

And here I was thinking that during the literal apocalypse we were done with any kind of exam.

“I advise you to do your best, as this will determine your possibilities for your future here. You can either stay here at one of our many jobs, from guarding the gates to training recruits, or you can be dispatched to a close-by settlement to help them out. You will have time to think about your options until tomorrow morning and 8 AM sharp. Understood?”

I open my mouth to reply out of habit, but the moment I do, panic takes over me and I clamp my mouth shut.

So I nod.

* * *

I pace around the small room anxiously, looking over and over at the piece of paper in front of me. 

My options.

I did well. Really well.

It goes from the most recommended job to the least. Because I’ve done so well, I can choose nearly anything. Hell, I can even apply for a leadership position.

But it’s so much. Too much. The small room feels like a cage and my chest feels heavy as sweat drips down my forehead.

I go out of the room, deciding I need to get some fresh air or I’ll go insane.

I walk around the dark hallways, my breathing increasing rapidly as I desperately try to find the exit. When I see a light, I decide I’ll just go ask where an exit is. Maybe I can get outside, run for a bit.

“I…I don’t know…she was just fine and then…”  
I stop in my tracks. In the lit-up room, I can see a man talking to a microphone. From the screens, it looks like he’s talking with a radio operator from another township.

“I understand, Mr. Yao. There’s nothing we can do. We’ve checked, she’s not here.”

“You’re sure? Not a single Alice?”

“We are sure. Now, may I recommend you go get some sleep? I’m sure you have plenty of runners to direct tomorrow-“

“No!”

The forceful voice takes me by surprise. I’ve heard people from townships talking about their runners before. Always with that monotone, bored voice, that made it seem like a chore.

“She…she’s out there. She has to be. She always gets out.” His voice cracks slightly at the end.

“Sam.” Says the man sitting in front of me, his voice softer now. “Abel doesn’t need a tired operator running the missions tomorrow. You know that even if she turns up right now, it’s too late. The gates have already been barred.”

The guy from the other line, Sam, sighs.

“I….I guess you’re right. The runners need me alert tomorrow, that’s the least I can do for them. I’ll-I’ll go to sleep now. “

I don’t wait to hear the man’s response. In a matter of seconds, I am back in my room, picking up my paper from where I’ve left it on the bed.

The runners aren’t just some numbers to Sam, like the way things are done around here.I can tell from his voice that…he actually cares about them.

My heart skips a beat when I find what I’m looking for, right at the bottom of the list, and I know I’ve made my decision.

_Abel Township._

**Author's Note:**

> I always imagined that Runner Five was not at Mullins for long, and I've always wanted to write a backstory for Five, so here it is! I hope you enjoyed it!


End file.
